Jonathan Tiernan-Locke unhappy at being given Category 2 licence

Just got a start sheet through for the Primavera Road Race. JTL is riding for http://saintpiran.cc 

Ayy... restart the machine at Cat 4.

How long till the DVLA gives him a Cat AM driving licence?

There must be precidence for this surely? BC should just do what they have always done in such cases?

Racing is a privalege not a god given right. That he's planning to come back shows an almost shameless chutzpah. He should be grateful he's been given a racing licence and, essentially, a second chance at all rather than whining about the category of the licence.

One things for sure, he'll be the most marked man in SW races for a long time. Would you let him disappear up the road? No chance.

Whether petty or not, if he still has the ability, can't see him staying in cat 2 for very long.

pedalpowerDC wrote:

It seems like all the commenters who say "make him earn it" aren't going to be getting destroyed by JTL in a race field. If they were, they ought to be saying "what the eff is this former pro doing in anything other than an elite field?"

It's humanly possible that I could compete against him over the course of the year (unlkely, but possible). That's not what I'd be thinking at all.  

Like I said above, if you've lost your licence due to doping, prove to everyone that you ARE an elite - just like everyone else who is a 2nd cat now and who will make it as far as elite is going to. Plenty of E/1/2 races out there if you're claiming it's unfair on the lower categories. 

If you turn up, lap the field and win everything in sight, it won't take long for you to show your true talent - and the quiet humility of doing it (in style!) could only serve to impress those who might still doubt your character...

I think he is looked on very negatively by BC because he hasn't taken his punishment like a good little bad boy, hes complained, moaned  and belittled BC and the UCI. 

Now many take that as the bitter ramblings of a shameless cheat, however I believe it to be the bitter ramblings of someone that genuinely does not feel they were guilty of the crime they were convicted of.

Now I don't know if that is a Landis situation, where Landis is adamant that whilst pumped full of EPO, transfusions and other enhancing medicines, he had not taken any of the synthetic testosterone he was convicted of.... or he just didn't do it. 

anyway... the end result is that the cycling world and the powers that be are treating him as the uber cheat, when in reality he is just another positive like any other convicted doper. 

Giving him a 2nd cat licence does a disservice to those lower cat riders that essentially fund the sport, and if done as a way to keep him out of higher cat racing, is an unfair way to further extend his ban.

I think its ok for British Cycling to not give him an elite licence after a doping ban, however, they now need to do the same for every pro that gets caught doping.

You can't just single out one ex-pro and drop them down the ranks on a whim.

This looks like BC are either singling him out for his personality or they are singling him out because he's not with a big team.

Either way, it's a bit off.

It seems like all the commenters who say "make him earn it" aren't going to be getting destroyed by JTL in a race field. If they were, they ought to be saying "what the eff is this former pro doing in anything other than an elite field?"

It's more of a disservice to the other racers in his field than to him. I've raced against sanctioned former dopers, and while that in itself is annoying, it would be even more annoying if the dopers were racing in beginner or intermediate fields, particularly if they were recently pros!

How many unhappy 2s and 3s are going to finish a race complaining that they got destroyed by some former pro who shouldn't even be in their field? 

BC don't know how long he was doping for, so can't know how far back to put him in order for him start again from where he gave up his morals*.

He should be grateful they've given him a 2nd cat license and not just said "start again from scratch"  with all the 4th cats

*Contentious, moi?

Oh... as a SW based rider, I can imagine most of the 234 cat guys down here would far rather he wasn't eligible to enter their races, BC are doing them no favours at all.

And do you know what, I think it is all a bit petty from both sides. BC should just give him a 1 or Elite licence, he's going striagh back there anyway, but at the same time, Jon is being a bit petty worrying about his licence category. He'll earn his 1 or elite soon enough.

Jon's biggest problem won't be the cat of his licence, it'll be the fact that most national A fields are automaticlly filled by the UK UCI teams and Elite registered squads. They get first dibs on places and there aren't many, if any, slots available beyond these squads.

It wouldn't matter if he was an Elite, there isn't room for any independents no matter their cat.

However, to finish, I for one look forward to seeing Jon back at the races, he was an awesome talent as a junior where I am sure he was clean, so I'm sure he'll be kicking bottoms again on his return. 

Bumba clat

A little petty, sure, but sock that. Make him earn it.

Do feel for the guys who show up to Cat. 2 race with a shot to win and run into to JTL on the start line. At least in his case they won't feel so bad about hoping for a mechanical.

Give him an elite license and "randomly" select him for doping controls at every single event he rides given I'd imagine doping controls might be a bit more rare further down the ladder.

Actually BC or the UCI should do that in general. For 1-2 years after the end of a doping ban, you're a season-pass holder to the controle dopage tent.

Elite licence whilst doping, so he's now got to prove that he is an elite rider whist clean, seems reasonable to me. Earn the Elite licence don't cheat your way back to it.

He's lucky that BC discretion is even on the cards. They should tell the little shit to lump it.